Tales of Draloya

Origin Story

Origins

The world of Draloya is an old one, and one that was created by the gods themselves. One of these gods is the almighty Vemedes. He had grown bored with his life, as he had lived for a millennia wondering the blank universe in search of other beings like himself. After he had reached the edge of the universe he began to feel a cold and alone.

As this sorrow continued for the next thousand years he thought that maybe he could not find the other beings due to the darkness, that maybe it was just too hard for them to find each other. So he made a clap of his hands and a large explosion was created which flung a blast out that was so big it echoed on throughout the universe. With the explosion came the first Star, Vemedus, and light filled the space around him. With this light he was finally able to see just how empty and vast the universe he had been wondering was. This sight brought back his sorrow and pain until he realized that if he could not find another being, he would just make someone to share this space with.

He began to envision this other being could help him search the universe. It would have to be someone with almost as much power as he and the result was the Goddess Votune. She was beautiful and instantly brought cheer and happiness to what had been his long and lonely life. Since she was created from pieces of Vemedes, she knew all that he knew. As soon as she was made, they began the search together and started to fill the the once empty space with more stars to rid the universe of darkness.

As they filled the space with these stars, both realized that they were alone. Even though they had each other, which gave each other joy, they knew that they would need more. With the powers they had been using to make the stars, they surely could create more. Votune began to gather the dust in the air and press it between her hands with tremendous pressure, and thus Draloya was created. As the sphere of earth hung floated in the space, she flung it towards Vemedus and it began to orbit. The two then plotted out how they would fill this world.

Within a blink of an eye the two were standing on the surface of the sphere Votune had just created. It was a barren land where the star’s rays would torch the surface and with no water on the surface, the air was dry. So Votune called upon the ice floating through the universe to the surface where it melted and flowed down to the deepest cracks and valleys filling them with water. These filled holes created the lakes and oceans and as the waters settled the air began to moisten and the temperature subsided.

Votune & Vemedes stared out at the great blue water and watched as Vemedus set for the first time. Once the night came, so did the darkness. This darkness reminded the two about their pain they used to feel. So Vemedes immediately bolted back to space, where he gathered more dust. He compacted it again except this time into disk, which he then placed opposite the sun to reflect the light back onto the surface. This gave the night just enough light to assure everything was still there, and was also used as a reminder that the light would return. The next day they awoke to sound of the first waves crashing on the shore.

Even with the oceans and lakes the star still produced a great deal of heat. The two gods realized they would need a place to hide from the stars rays. They each had a solution they felt would work best. Votune began crafting and summoning the trees and plants to create shaded jungles and forests. While Vemedes moved the earth beneath him. Pushing, pulling, and bending it to create valleys, mountains, and caves that would block the sun. When they both had finished and looked at the results, they agreed that each of their ideas complimented the other and were happy. As they laid down to rest for the night, they looked at the beauty they created.

The next day they talked about how lonely they were as they wandered the surface on their own. They had created a wonderful place, but nothing was around to enjoy it as they do. So they created beasts, and set them free into the wild. Made in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns. Some were made to explore the seas & waters, others to roam the surface, and finally some to soar through the skies. As Vemedes and Votune sat back watching the third sunset they slept easily knowing they were surrounded by their creation.

The next morning however things were not so pleasant. The seas began to rage and were frightening, the trees were overgrowing and suffocating each other, and the beasts began killing each other with no rhyme or reason. The two acted fast to keep the damage to a minimum and after calming the seas, rejuvenating the plants, and herding the beasts they knew they could not do this alone. They decided they would need to create more powerful beings like themselves to help watch over their beloved creation. They would make a beings of the Earth, Water, Nature, Moon, Stars, and Beasts and each would be given warden over a domain and given power to do so. Their names were Ulaa Goddess of the Earth, Umberlee Goddess of Water, Silvanus God of Nature, Selune Goddess of the Moon, Celestian God of the Stars, & Malar God of the Hunt and Beasts.

With the help of Quodhexa, Vemedes and Votune watched over Draloya. For the next hundred years or so Draloy stayed at peace. Each of the new gods watching over and nurturing their domains. Once day. Vemedes and Votune decided to leave this world as they had been around for a millennia and wanted some rest. They would put Quodhexa in charge of this world as they would go back out into the universe where they felt most at home and could enjoy all of their creations. The new gods quickly become bored with their powers and the world they were left to watch over. They wanted more to command and more power to do so. So they came together, in secret from Vemedes & Votune, and decided they could gain more power over this world if they had beings to worship them. The beasts already present were too mindless and unintelligent so they knew they had to create a new kind of beast. One that would know its place and worship them without question. They each had an interpretation of what this type of beast should look like and could not agree on one. So the gods each proposed their creation and debated until they had settled on one. They would be create the Human, a blend of all their ideas. No one area being greater than the rest, and a shorter life span so they do not gain too much power to question their world. They agreed to meet tomorrow to create the being and they went their separate ways for the rest of the evening.

As each of them wandered through their domain, like they did every evening before rest, they began to dream of a world with their beings. Ulaa walked the mountains and hills pondering her short and strong Dwarf. Umberlee swam through the sea thinking of the small intelligent Gnome. Silvanus walked in the forests and jungles thinking of his brave and noble Halfling. Selune laid under the moon and pondered her mysterious and eloquent Tiefling. Malar called the beasts of the world and thought of his powerful and wise Dragonborn. Finally, as Celestian flew through the sky looking at the stars he thought of his great and honorable race of Elves. Each god was in love with their creation, and believed the other proposed races to be inferior. This feeling stayed with them all through the evening and when night had come they each created their own races.

The next day as the Gods arrived to meet, each had prepared to be shamed by the others for what they had done. However to each of their surprise they saw that all the other gods had done the same. As they convened they each began to see what the others had been trying to explain the previous day, and realized this great world would need many different types of races to stay balanced. They agreed to allow the new races to live in their world and they would help them as long as they worshiped and honored their existence as gods.

Over the course of the next hundred years the gods began to fade back into the background to let their creations warden the world. They agreed to not favor their own creations and would share in the glory of them all equally. They would only intervene if absolutely necessary and would make it a swift and definite action when done. As the races grew and matured, so did their knowledge and power. The gods began to wonder how to limit their achievements, so they do not become equal to their power. They sought out Vemedes and Votune, so they could share their great wisdom on the matter. When Vemedes and Votune found out what Quodhexa had done, they felt betrayed and outraged. They had left these gods to watch over their creation and instead they meddled with it. These young gods had made the same mistake they had when they created this world, by creating something and expecting it to automatically be put in balance. Vemedes wanted to strike down their creations and leave the world barren to start anew, but Quodhexa would not let him. They loved their creations and would protect them even if that meant they fight their creators to do so. Votune saw this passion and persuaded Vemedes to let them live by reminding them of how they were when they created this place. Vemedes agreed but he knew he must still bring balance back to Draloya.

These new races would need something to keep them in check, and keep them fearful of the gods once more. So Vemedes created evil beasts to do what the gods would not let him do. They would keep the beings in line through fear, strength, and magical powers. He created fiends, Orcs, Ogers, Dragons, and many more. When Vemedes released these beasts on the world the Gods sat and watched as their creations became frightened and worried of what would happen to them. They cowered in their towns and villages from them, where they would pray to the gods for help. Vemedes forbid them from intervening, as they had done enough of that. Quodhexa of course agreed, but knew they must still help in someway. They would sneak down and help the races battle the beasts by giving them items with great powers or bestowing power to the races directly.

Vemedes also created the being that they had all agreed on before, the Human. As this beast would bring a subordinate worshiper. Their lives would be short, and they would have no real advantage over the rest of the world. Little did Vemedes know, this would actually be the human’s strength. That they would intern be more driven to succeed and more adaptable to the world. Since the humans had only known the world to be a harsh and dangerous place, they banded together far greater than the older races. They formed stronger civilizations and made walls around them to protect from the beasts. They befriended the other races, even though they were despised. They gave them their construction technology so they to could defend themselves, but only a few accepted. The Elves, Gnomes, and Halflings took this knowledge and built their own cities, towns, and defenses. The Dwarfs, Tieflings, and Dragonborn went into the mountains, underground and hills to find shelter from the beasts there.

Once the dust had settled from the chaos and fighting, the world was left in balance. The races had combated the beasts back, but not defeated them. While the beasts, though pushed back, still posed a threat to the races and their quest for more. It is here the world truly began. A place where man, beast, and the gods keep each other in a natural balance.